Finally...

Ah, what is going on the world of Carmen Sandiego?

She is still stateside, enjoying her job and balancing work and family, like so many of us are...

I've taken the little one to the allergist for skin-testing recently. Great news! According to the skin test he is no longer allergic to peanuts or shellfish! I have tried a little peanut (two peanuts, to be exact) and he was fine. The Dr. says to introduce those items into his diet slowly, so that is what we are doing. VERY slowly.

And I am still my crunchy garbanzo bean self, as one of my sisters has so affectionately named me. I watched Food, Inc. the other day, and it put some pep in my step as far as my transition to healthier, organic foods goes. Unfortunately, it costs more to eat properly in this country, and so some of the change is slow going. But I'm getting there, and finding ways to make it affordable for my family. There are lots of ways! I will share with you what I've done in the future, maybe you will find some useful information.

Although having a child with food allergies is challenging, it forced me to think about what we eat. I started reading labels to find out what was "safe", and was surprised by what I found. I thought a can of beans would be, well, beans, salt, and water. Boy was I wrong. And not only about the beans, about almost everything. So I started going back to basics. I read the labels of everything I purchase, and I opt for the most natural, most basic option I can afford. I look for the shortest ingredient list and for that list to have recognizable ingredients. When I buy canned beans, the ingredients are actually water, beans and salt. My yogurt contains cultured milk, vanilla, sugar and pectin. It might not be organic (yet) but it's a start.